Abstract
We argue that formal theories of justice cannot neglect the moral intuitions existing in society and illustrate this claim with empirical results. We analyse the perception of justice in a production context by starting from the surplus sharing model. Our questionnaire method is closely related to the work of Yaari and Bar-Hillel [14]. Our results suggest that differences in effort are considered to be the main justification for income differences. Our respondents strongly disagree about the remuneration of innate capabilities. It is further suggested that surplus sharing and cost sharing models cannot be treated symmetrically, because people react differently towards gains and losses.
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Centre for Economic Studies, K.U. Leuven and Department of Psychology, K.U. Leuven respectively. Previous versions of this paper have been presented at the “International Conference on Social Justice in Human Relations” (Leiden, 1986) and at a conference on “Economic Models and Distributive Justice” (Brussels/Namur, 1987). Comments by participants at these conferences are gratefully acknowledged.
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Schokkaert, E., Overlaet, B. Moral intuitions and economic models of distributive justice. Soc Choice Welfare 6, 19–31 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00433360
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00433360